Introduction

Sociopaths & God

Would God create an individual who couldn't tell
the difference between right and wrong and then condemn him for it?
Since sociopaths (those who suffer from antisocial personality disorder) seem
to fall into this category, does this make God a hypocrite?

Rich Deem

I received an email from Adam, an agnostic psychology undergraduate, who
asked whether the existence of people who cannot tell right from wrong might
provide an argument against the existence of God. Why would God create an
individual who couldn't distinguish good from evil and then condemn him
because of that condition? The syndrome that describes this disorder used to be called sociopathy, although it is now referred to as "antisocial personality
disorder" (ASPD). People with this disorder are defined by the American Psychological Association as
exhibiting
"a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of
others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into
adulthood."1

It is known that several forms of criminal and antisocial behavior, such
as conduct disorder, aggressive behavior, rule-breaking behavior and
antisocial behavior tend to be found within families.2
Although such associations might suggest the existence of a genetic
component, there is always the question of "nature versus nurture."
This page examines whether ASPD is the result of being born that way or the
result of one's upbringing and choices.

Genetic studies

Genetic research in antisocial personality disorder have focused on genes
associated with dopaminergic, serotonergic, and monoamine neurotransmitter
pathways (involved in brain chemistry).3
Although such directed approaches have identified significantly altered genes
within individual psychiatric studies, attempts to replicate such results have been
successful in only 27% of such studies.4 The "gold
standard" way of identifying genetic associations in complex diseases is through
genome-wide association studies (GWAS), which utilize a hypothesis-free (and
bias-free) analysis of genetic associations based upon sequencing of actual
genomes of patients, their relatives and unrelated control subjects. An
Australian group of scientists utilized GWAS to examine two cohorts including
1649 subjects identified as suffering from ASPD. along with a second cohort of
3167 individuals taken at-large.5
All individuals from the second cohort were also tested for the presence of ASPD
and other personality disorders using standardized psychiatric tests. The genotyping of the
4816 individuals resulted in zero genes being identified as being significantly
associated with ASPD.5
So, the definitive study examining whether sociopaths are "born that way" has
demonstrated that it has no significant genetic component. A more recent
examination of the genetic associations with a host of psychiatric disorders
(but not ASPD) did find 5 statistically significant loci associated with
autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder, bipolar
disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia.6
The study was done using a huge number of patients (33,332
cases and 27,888 controls), since it was already apparent from previous attempts
that genetic linkage for mental illness was going to be difficult to prove
(hence the need for large numbers of patients to improve the statistical power).
Although news articles citing the study called the findings "stunning," the data
was actually far from it. The best p value for association was 5×10-8. By comparison, in IBD genetics
(in which our research group is involved), p values reach as small as 10-14.
So, although the research found statistically significant loci, they are
nowhere near the "stunning" range. In IBD there are at last count 163
significant genetic loci, whereas in psychiatric disorders, the researchers found only
5. It would be a huge stretch to say that 5 genes with such low genetic
associations could account for and cause 5 different psychiatric
disorders. With the decreasing costs associated
with GWAS analysis, geneticists have used such tools to examine another
behavioral condition, sexual orientation, and determined that there is, at most,
only one genetic association, which has not been consistently reproduced in all
studies.7
So, overall, behavioral conditions have shown few, if any, genetic associations,
with no association actually being shown to influence development of the
disorder.

Nurture Studies

Many studies have found associations between parenting and antisocial
behavior.8
Studies have found that lack of either maternal or paternal support can lead
to the development of anti-social behaviors.9
Extremes in parenting (either authoritarian or permissive) are risk factors
for the development of antisocial and aggressive behaviors during middle
childhood.10
The lack of parental support coupled with the influence of deviant peers
constitute a strong predictor of antisocial behaviors.11
So, these studies demonstrate that nurture is much more important than nature
(genetics) for the development of antisocial personality disorder.

Biochemistry vs. choice

Although ASPD probably has little or no genetic component, it is still
possible that the person "suffering" from such a disorder might not have a
choice about their behavior, due to some physical defect in their
brain. One study found slight alterations in the amount of gray matter in
people diagnosed with ASPD.12
Another study found differences in the integrity of the white natter myelin
bundles of the uncinate fascisculus.13
Neither study showed a direct link between the brain differences and
behavioral outcomes.

However, even if there were such a defects, it would still be difficult
to conclude that ASPD is the result of a physical cause versus a choice to behave selfishly. The fact is that most sociopaths can be quite
charming and lure their victims into relationships before using and abusing
them. The brain is a remarkable machine. However, repetitive actions train
the brain to respond in a certain way. For many tasks we perform day in and
day out, training the brain is a good thing, resulting in improved and
efficient function. However, when we train our brain to respond
inappropriately, our conscience becomes seared and we become "incapable" of
making good choices. Sociopaths seem to have fallen in to this pattern of
behavior, beginning in childhood to adolescence, because of permissive or
absent parenting.

Can ASPD be saved?

The prognosis for people with ASPD is poor and treatment seems to be
ineffective in the majority of cases. Do all these people end up in hell?
Christianity says that all people are sinners and deserving of hell, but God
has designed a way that we might be saved through faith in Jesus. Virtually
all people (including us "normal" people), at some point in our
lives,
commit some antisocial behaviors that hurt other people. The problem for
most sociopaths is that they don't care that there is a problem with their
behavior. As long as they can manipulate people to get what they want, they
are content living their lives hurting other people. For a person to come to saving faith, he must
first recognize that he is a sinner in need of redemption. Although it would
seem unlikely that sociopaths could be saved, at least some have claimed to
have reformed through faith in God.14

Conclusion

Would God create a person who couldn't distinguish good from evil and then condemn
him because of that condition? Psychiatrists thought that behavioral
disorders, such as antisocial personality disorder (sociopathy), would be the
result of bad genetics related to genes though to be involved in brain
function. If a genetic component were found, it could be argued that either
God created such individuals (making God a hypocrite) or God did not exist and
such persons were simply the outcome of Darwinian evolution gone bad. However,
scientific studies show that genetics plays little if any role in the
development of antisocial personality disorder. Instead, studies show that
sociopaths result primarily from absent of permissive parenting. So, God does not create
sociopaths, but they are the consequences of failing to follow God's design
for the family.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of
knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Listen, my son, to your
father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching. They will be
a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. My son, if
sinners entice you, do not give in to them. (Proverbs 1:7-10)